West Nile Virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus

 

The South Australian Health Department (SA Health) has advised that sentinel chickens in South Australia have tested positive for both West Nile Virus/Kunjin (WNV/KUN) and Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus (MVEV) during blood sampling that occurred near Waikerie on 28 February 2020.

Chickens are considered a good indicator of mosquito borne disease risk to the community as they readily produce antibodies to these diseases. Disease usually occurs in late Summer and Autumn.

Veterinarians in NSW have been asked to be on the lookout for clinical cases. Any animal suspected of being infected (based on exposure to mosquitos and demonstration of appropriate clinical signs such as neurological issues) should be sampled as soon as possible after clinical signs develop, with a follow up 3-4 weeks later. Clotted blood or CSF can be used for testing. As WNV/KUN is a notifiable disease is NSW, the costs of testing are covered under the state’s notifiable diseases program. Details of how to report cases can be found here.

For information about WNV/KUN and MVEV in general, please refer to the media release from SA Health or to the NSW Department of Primary Industries website.

 

 

 

 

This news article was published on 20 March 2020.